Lü City.
The majestic imperial guards of Emperor Jiajing of Great Ming left through the east gate. The entire Lü City was as silent as a cold cicada. The three thousand Confucian scholars sent off Emperor Jiajing's imperial guards with extremely complex expressions.
Without a doubt, this domineering lord's performance at the Three Emperors Alliance was the strongest and most impactful!
Even though Lord Lü Chunqiu had announced that the Emperor of Chu was the winner, the three thousand scholars all acknowledged that Emperor Jiajing was the only real hero!
Such a domineering lord should be worth relying on by rights. As the saying goes, once one’s literary and military studies are completed, they should offer their services to the emperor’s household.
Yet at the very last moment of the Three Emperors Alliance, Emperor Jiajing had somehow come into conflict with Lord Lü Chunqiu?
The three thousand scholars were very disappointed. They wanted to rely on Great Ming and follow Emperor Jiajing. But their mentor Lord Lü Chunqiu was clearly not on the same side as Emperor Jiajing, what should they do?
A teacher's kindness is as heavy as a mountain! Once someone is your teacher, they are your father for life! Even between heaven, earth, lord, parents and teacher, the lord comes before teacher.
But Emperor Jiajing was just a lord that these scholars admired and hoped would become their future monarch. The two sides did not yet have an established lord-subject relationship that matched names to reality. Whereas Lord Lü Chunqiu was already set in stone as their teacher.
Among the three thousand scholars, some had sought the Way from Lord Lü Chunqiu, some had even performed the ritual of taking him as their master. Even the most distant ones had at least studied and comprehended the saintly words and phrases in the Annals of Lü Buwei.
However, soon after, the Emperor of Great Chu also publicly announced that there would no longer be a [Three Emperors Alliance] held in the future and that this would be the last one.
The scholars were shocked! They had originally believed the process of this alliance was already quite exciting and thrilling.
Whether it was the Han Emperor's sword breaking, the Chu Emperor engraving the sky, Emperor Jiajing suppressing the two other emperors, or even the extremely rare appearance of Lord Lü Chunqiu, everything was enough to become the focus of all public attention under heaven!
Yet the scholars absolutely did not expect that they would have the fortune of participating in the very last [Three Emperors Alliance]!
From now on, the alliance would fade into history. Scenes of emperors competing in literary talent would no longer appear?
Was the Emperor of Chu belligerent?
The scholars had an oddly unanimous interpretation of this matter. They unanimously believed that the young Emperor of Chu had just been announced as the winner at the alliance. Therefore, she became arrogant and would soon begin a life of exhausting soldiers and squandering resources!
The Emperor of Chu disregarded the comfort given by the sages under heaven. Even if the scholars did not denounce her to her face, they would definitely condemn her behind her back and let everyone under heaven see the emperor's 'true face'!
***
In the estate of Marquis Wenxin of Lü City, Fan Li picked up some vegetables with his chopsticks while saying, "Human nature is always inclined towards profit."
The sky had gradually darkened. Half a day after Emperor Jiajing's departure, Emperor Liu Xie of Han had also left.
Emperor Liu Xie's departure was very low-profile. It almost made people suspect that he had slipped away under the cover of night to avoid embarrassment by quietly leaving. Several hundred scholars had also left under the night along with Emperor Liu Xie.
The words Fan Li had just said about human nature inclining towards profit was referring precisely to these scholars.
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Although they had also left the city under the night like Emperor Liu Xie, the scholars were definitely not following the Remonstrating Emperor of Han.
They were hurrying in almost the complete opposite direction. That was the direction of Great Ming.
"Duke Jin’s foresight is impressive. The people who left tonight were only the first batch," Lü Chunqiu said.
"According to convention, after the Three Emperors Alliance concludes, this feudal official would give lectures to the scholars for a month. But looking at the current situation, there will probably be a certain number of scholars secretly leaving Lü City every night in the next few days, heading to Great Ming to rely on Emperor Jiajing." As Lü Chunqiu spoke, he revealed a bitter laugh on his own face.
"I'm afraid that among all the generations of Marquis Wenxin in the Lü clan, I will be the one with the least number of students attending my lectures. How shameful, how shameful!" Lü Chunqiu repeatedly shook his head.
Fan Li did not want to dampen his spirits and changed the topic. "The Marquis's cultivation is profound. To actually be able to withstand the might of the Son of Heaven, this feudal official is impressed."
"Me? Withstanding the Son of Heaven?" Upon hearing this, Lü Chunqiu laughed loudly while slapping the table.
As he laughed loudly, a plain and unadorned book floated above his head. It was none other than the Lü clan's precious treasure, the Annals of Lü Buwei.
Fan Li did not speak and quietly waited for Lü Chunqiu to explain.
"Duke Jin, from now on since we serve the same monarch, I will stop hiding things." Lü Chunqiu made a flipping motion. Without any wind, the ancient book above his head automatically turned a few pages on its own.
Suddenly, a page of paper from among all the pages of the Annals of Lü Buwei detached itself. It floated midair and drifted around. In just a few breaths, this page surprisingly ignited itself! Very quickly, it turned into ashes and dispersed with the wind.
Fan Li instantly understood. "This Annals of Lü Buwei can no longer be restored?"
Lü Chunqiu nodded. "When the last page burns away, there will no longer be any Annals of Lü Buwei between heaven and earth."
This was the price to resist the Son of Heaven!
Even Lü Buwei's staggeringly amazing magnum opus which had consumed countless amounts of human and material resources, the collective grand achievement of cultivation masters of that generation, was still far from enough before the might of the Son of Heaven!
A doubt emerged in Fan Li's heart, "Your Majesty, why are you so powerful?"
A few days later, the imperial guards of the Emperor of Chu left Lü City. Lü Chunqiu saw them off for a hundred li without saying a single word the entire way.
Among the remaining scholars in Lü City waiting to listen to Lü Chunqiu's teachings were less than half left.
After reaching a hundred li, Lü Chunqiu immediately stopped and did not take another step forward.
At this time, there were surprisingly three people sitting in the imperial carriage of Chu - Xiang Ning, Fan Li and Lü Fubao.
There was naturally no need to explain Fan Li's presence. Relying on his boundless power and authority, he would leave Lü City however he came.
The spacious and comfortable imperial carriage was like a luxurious movable bedroom. Fan Li did not feel crowded or awkward at all.
As for Lü Fubao, she was about to become the Imperial Noble Consort of Great Chu.
Allowing Lü Fubao to ride the imperial carriage was Great Chu's silent promise to Lü Chunqiu.
"Father, you have to come often to see your daughter."
Lü Fubao truly lived up to being Marquis Wenxin's beloved daughter. Although only in her teens, she was unexpectedly well-behaved and sensible at this moment.
After travelling another few dozen li, the imperial carriage stopped again. Someone obstructed the path ahead and requested an audience with Emperor Xiang Ning of Chu.
"Liu Bei has arrived. I wonder what business he has?" Xiang Ning felt puzzled after hearing the attendant's report.
Fan Li explained, "Liu Bei is a relative of the Great Han imperial clan, the current Emperor's uncle. Him coming to request an audience with Your Majesty naturally represents the Han Emperor to express goodwill."
Xiang Ning immediately granted permission for Liu Bei to pay his respects. At this moment, Liu Bei had changed into formal court attire – a vermilion robe, adorned with a gold-encrusted jade belt, radiating a truly majestic and dignified presence.
Liu Bei first glanced at Fan Li before offering his respects to Xiang Ning.
"I am sent by His Majesty, the Emperor of Han, to specially visit and arrange a meeting with Emperor Chu. After Your Majesty returns to your country, please promptly proceed with the marriage to Princess Chang Le. This way, the world will know that the alliance between Chu and Han is strong, and the Liu and Xiang families are now one."
Pressing for the marriage?
Fan Li, upon hearing this, secretly pondered.
Why the rush for the marriage?
Was it because Liu Xie, feeling distressed after his defeat, lost his composure?
Or perhaps, this defeat caused great turmoil in Han, and he aimed to use the might of Chu's reputation to intimidate dissenters?
"I understand. His Majesty, the Emperor of Han, can rest assured." Xiang Ning felt somewhat awkward. Not only was she originally disguised as a man, but now, sitting in the dragon carriage was her future empress, and Liu Bei was here urging the marriage?
Xiang Ning surprisingly felt like she was a 'scumbag.'
Just as Xiang Ning was suspecting whether the Emperor of Han was causing unnecessary trouble for himself, Liu Bei presented a scroll.
"This is a copy of a map leading to the suspected tomb of the last emperor of the previous dynasty. After my emperor returns, he plans to investigate the authenticity of the tomb. We invite Emperor Chu to join us on this venture.
If Chu and Han jointly inspect the tomb and confirm it as the true imperial tomb of the last emperor, the treasures within can be split equally between Chu and Han!"